by Patrick Foster, USA TODAY College

by Patrick Foster, USA TODAY College

Students of all ages and backgrounds - who have overcome a range of challenges to pursue their dreams - are thriving in the USA's community colleges. The Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society will honor them by announcing its 2014 All-USA Community College Academic Team today, recognizing 20 two-year college students from across the USA who display an outstanding combination of academic achievement and community service.

Sponsored by Follett Higher Education Group, with support from the American Association of Community Colleges, each winner receives a $2,500 scholarship. To be eligible, the student must have been nominated by his or her college.

The winners were selected from more than 1,700 students nominated by more than 800 community colleges.

"Community colleges provide students a high-quality, affordable education," said Don Germano, president of Follett Higher Education Group. "All of us at Follett are so pleased to recognize and support these outstanding students - driven, brilliant students on a path to be our future leaders."

A look at the winners:

Lilliam Alexa Acosta - Collin College, Texas: Inspired by her mother's decision to attend community college, she overcame an unstable childhood in Puerto Rico, moved to Texas to attend Collin College and plans to transfer to a four-year school this fall.

Jennifer Brady - Mohave Community College, Arizona: Mother of three children - all of whom require special medical care - she is pursuing a college degree to help her husband provide health insurance for her children and show them "it is never too late to achieve your goals."

Joseph Burch - Central Piedmont Community College, North Carolina: A first-generation college student, father and passionate community volunteer, he is earning a Human Services degree and one day hopes to earn a Ph. D.

Vicente Cortez - Enterprise State Community College, Alabama: Home-schooled his entire life, Enterprise State was his first time at a "real" school. He is on track to transfer to a four-year school and eventually follow in parents' footsteps by owning his own business.

Julie Crafton - Heartland Community College, Illinois: Treated for brain cancer while a freshman in high school, she has maintained a love of learning throughout various hardships. She plans to transfer to Colorado State University in the fall, where she will continue to care for her grandfather, whom she calls her lifelong source of inspiration.

Michelle Machado Davis - Collin College, Texas:

After a difficult childhood in Brazil, she abandoned her hope of getting a degree and moved to the USA; 12 years later, she returned to college with a new determination to secure a better financial future for herself and her children.

Laura D. DeNardo - Jefferson Community College, New York: This lifetime resident of Watertown, N.Y., has plans to become a nurse practitioner. Jefferson Community College's nursing program was affordable enough to allow her to pursue her dream.

Kayla Duchaine - Eastern Florida State College, Florida: A biochemistry student with a 4.0 GPA, she has long dreamed of becoming a pediatrician to help under-privileged children in developing countries.

Jenna Freund - St. Louis Community College, Missouri: Community college has provided her the setting she needed to discover the passionate campus leader and community volunteer inside her.

Robert Matthew Gonzales - Eastern New Mexico University-Ruidoso, N.M.: He had always emphasized work over education until he got to community college. It was there he discovered a passion for environmental science and now strives to achieve his goal of becoming a hydrologist.

Noah Griffin - Northeast Texas Community College, Texas: The second of eight home-schooled children, he was inspired by his father's determination to finish medical school and is now on track to earn a music-related degree.

Abigail Harding - Vermilion Community College, Minnesota: She chose Vermilion over other colleges because of the school's unique focus on the environment. Her passion for caring for the Earth, and her goal is to work in wilderness and park management.

Eric Howard - Muskegon Community College, Michigan: This 22-year-old, inspired by his mother's volunteer work, has taken advantage of Muskegon's affordability to pursue his goal of becoming a nurse anesthetist.

Christian Keen - Santa Fe College, Florida: He overcame a serious speech impediment to develop a passion for caring for animals. When a sudden change derailed his college plans, he found a home at Santa Fe College, where he has developed into a student leader still on track to become a large-animal veterinarian.

Michelle L. Kemeny - Mesa Community College, Arizona: Diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following time in the Air Force, she is thankful for Mesa, where she has re-focused her life. She's on track for her associate's degree and has been accepted at Arizona State University.

Shannon Kreutzer - Cottey College, Missouri: This 4.0 student recognized that Cottey College would give her the small-school focus she needed to develop intellectually and take the first step toward a degree in environmental science.

Georgia Swinford - Hinds Community College, Mississippi: She has worked to pay for her own college education and deeply appreciates an affordable degree in mathematics, which she hopes to turn into a teaching job.

Lorena A. Villanueva - Central Arizona College, Arizona: This young mother of an autistic child is driven to provide her daughter financial stability and eventually work as an occupational therapist.

Zachary Warren - Jones County Junior College, Mississippi: Inspired by his mother (an employee at Jones County Junior College) and the memory of his sister (murdered when he was 8), Zachary hopes to honor his family by earning a doctoral degree in history.